Baileywick's Obligation
by MissBloodRaven
Summary: Upon request of King Roland II, Baileywick is obligated to keep the castle immaculate. He has the daunting task of cleaning up Cedric's workshop


**Author Note: **This fic was inspired by AkimiB response "Baileywick/Cedric - Pigsty" to my exploration of two character relationship request thread.

**ooOooOooOoo**

Hundreds of potions lined the shelves of Cedric's workshop. It was a great passion of the royal sorcerer to create potions or obsession if you asked anyone else in Enchancia's Castle.

No one ever complained about the potions Cedric thought to himself. Potions were always successful, it showed the Kingdom his true potential as a sorcerer.

Cedric searched through the pages of his favorite potion book to find the perfect addition to his collection. Then a knock on the door disturbed the sorcerer concentration.

"What do you want," hissed Cedric as he opened the door.

Cedric rolled his eye once he saw it was Baileywick, the castle's head stuart.

"Cedric, I am here to tidy up the workshop," Baileywick announced. "From orders of the King."

"Fine fine," Cedric said before he signaled for the stuart to enter his lair.

The instant Baileywick step inside the workshop, Wormwood swooped and caw his disapproval of the unwanted guest. The stuart jumped back to avoid the unwelcoming raven's claw.

Cedric didn't bother to calm down his bird, he found himself more enthralled with Baileywick reaction to his winged companion. Only if he could express his disapproval of Baileywick present but he was restricted.

Baileywick would swiftly report to King Roland II of any incident of disrespect. In no time at all the King would summon the sorcerer to the throne room. Cedric could not stand being in same room as his royal bratness.

Wormwood cawed angrily at his master. Cedric understood his raven companion. Like many times before Wormwood indicated what ridiculous customs humans have.

"Wormy, I completely agree," replied Cedric.

Baileywick contained himself from laughing. He had always found it bizarre that the sorcerer spoke to Wormwood as if they understood each other. The successful communication between bird and man was impossible in Baileywick's head.

Then again Cedric wasn't exactly an ordinary person Baileywick thought. The sorcerer was known for his magical blunders and his awkwardness towards others. Speaking to his pet raven wasn't as odd as most things Cedric did.

"Could you please cage him," Baileywick requested as he pointed at Wormwood.

"You know, Wormwood," Cedric explained. "He doesn't like to be cooped up in a cage. I have always let him roam free in the workshop, and always will."

Baileywick sighed, "Could you take a break from your magic and train him properly. None of the maid staff want to handle your mess with him flying around."

Baileywick had a poor sense of what a mess is in Cedric's books. A piece of dust on a table would be considered pigsty to that stuart.

"He just doing what comes naturally to him," Cedric defended his pet's behavior.

"What so natural about attacking everything in sight," Baileywick questioned as he begun to sweep the workshop's floor.

"It's a natural instinct of males of many species to be territorial," the sorcerer explained. "Why would Wormwood be any different?"

"Because he a pet," Baileywick stated. "Pets are suppose to be tamed."

Cedric wasn't surprise by the stuarts response, he didn't expect Baileywick understand the nature of life. Even tamed animals are very territorial. Not everyone was blessed with great intellect like Cedric was.

The stuart made his rounds around the workshop cleaning every tiny mess and misplaced item as he saw fit. When Baileywick investigated the potion station he was not pleased by its state when he picked up beakers to observe each container had a tiny bit of residue at bottom.

"You're father wouldn't left a mess like this," Baileywick stated. "He always kept the potion station immaculate."

Cedric snarled his nose, it had just been four days since his father passed away and the shadow that was cast over him by being the son of Goodwin the Great had not faded even a pinch.

"I have very important stuff to do," Cedric huffed as he showed Baileywick to the door . "That's enough cleaning for today."

"Oh, Wormy," Cedric sighed a few minutes after Baileywick left. "When we take over the kingdom Baileywick will be the first to bow to me."

Wormwood let out a cackling caw.

"What plans I have for that stuart," Cedric laughed. "Once he tidy a room, I will be insistent of investigating his work. What he does will never be good enough. So he will have to redo it. His downfall is his obsession with perfection. If I find the job done suitably I will make sure it is not. I will purposely misplace items, spill potions, whatever I can to get under that man's skin."

A sinister grin formed on Cedric face, He imagined how utterly fun it would be when Baileywick was annoyed with the pigsty state of the castle. The never ending work for the stuart to clean. The royal sorcerer reflected on the current situation then begun laughing like a mad man.

"Why didn't I see it sooner, Wormy," Cedric cackled.

Wormwood cawed in confusion.

"Don't you see, Wormy," Cedric explained. "I don't need to wait to become King to command that stuart around. He is already required to attend to workshop cleanliness. Nothing he can do about it."

Cedric examined his workshop to determine the best place to begin his havoc. He picked up a stack of loose papers and threw them in the air. Then he proceeded to his spell components and slide his arm across the shelf knocking the rat whiskers and pig eyes containers onto the floor.

"Did I do that," Cedric joked with himself. "What a mess who will ever clean it up."

Wormwood flew around cawing deviously, he joined his master in creation of the ultimate mess for the castle's stuart to pick up.

"This is the best thing Roland II has ever done for me," Cedric laughed. "I can't wait until tomorrow when Baileywick sees this disaster."

Cedric and Wormwood cackled in unison.

**ooOooOooOoo**

"Come in," Cedric rejoiced when Baileywick knocked on his door the next morning.

"What happened here," asked the stuart after he saw the state of the workshop.

"Just a little accident when I working on potions this morning," Cedric snickered at Baileywick discomfort.

"Just a little," questioned Baileywick.

Cedric never responded he just sat at his work bench observing the Baileywick's reaction when he clean up taking a mental note on what appeared to displeased the stuart most.

Once Baileywick left Cedric's workshop

"Time to work, Wormy," Cedric laughed. "We can't let Baileywick be bored next time he comes."

Wormwood cawed excitedly, he adored his master when he was wicked.

**ooOooOooOoo**

Over the next week, Baileywick sighed in disbelief every time he stepped into the sorcerer's workshop. Everyday there was more and more to clean. What was getting misplaced became stranger and stranger.

"What have you been doing here," Baileywick questioned the royal sorcerer.

After thinking for a moment, Cedric lied, "I took your advice."

"My advice," the stuart asked confused. "What advice is that."

"Training Wormwood," Cedric continued to lie as he pointed to his well-behaved raven.

"You are doing a fine job at that," Baileywick complemented Cedric after he realized that all Wormwood did the past few days was sit on his perch and watch him.

The stuart was unaware that Cedric hadn't spent even a second training his raven. Wormwood was just as delighted with watching Baileywick's misery as his master was. Wormwood behaving well made the stuart's daunting task slightly more tolerable.

**ooOooOooOoo**

"Where is he," Cedric grumbled to his pet. "He should be here by now."

The sorcerer was frustrated that his daily fix of watching stuart's discomfort was not happening. Baileywick was obsess with having a schedule as he was making the castle immaculate.

Twenty more minutes, Cedric waited impatiently. But there was still no Baileywick.

"I will get to the bottom of this," Cedric huffed before leaving his workshop.

**ooOooOooOoo**

It didn't take the royal sorcerer long to find the stuart, he was in the castle's kitchen overseeing the cooks.

"Everything must be perfect for his majesty lunch," Baileywick commented. "Cedric, what are you doing here?"

Baileywick was in a extremely joyful mood, it wasn't the stuart's typical behavior around him thought Cedric. The sorcerer knew right away Baileywick sent another to do his job. Cedric did not like it one bit.

"I need food to survive," Cedric huffed stating the obvious before picking up an apple.

"That's true," Baileywick stated. "I got good news. Now that your pet is tamed I will be out of your hair."

Within minutes a maid called out, "Baileywick!"

"Here she is," the stuart stated. "What going on, Meredith."

"I can't work like that," Meredith screamed. "That bird is crazy. He nearly clawed out my eyes."

"You were saying," Cedric sarcastically asked.

"I guess I will be back on the job," Baileywick sadly sighed.

"See you soon then," the sorcerer said with a smirk.

"Not today, Cedric," Baileywick replied. "There is tons of preparations I need to do today. I wouldn't have time until tomorrow."

A hunched over Cedric stormed out of the kitchen. He was pissed - He wanted to make the stuart pay even more but there wasn't much left on main floor of the workshop to make a muck of. He needed to add more work for the 'lazy' stuart to do the next morning.

**ooOooOooOoo**

The next morning, Baileywick opened the door the sorcerer's workshop.

It surprised the stuart four days ago when he found the door to the workshop unlocked. He found Wormwood on his perch on main level, and shocked when Cedric had greeted him from the upper level. Baileywick figured that Cedric began to trust him more.

Cedric did not greet him this morning, he just hid in the shadows on upper level clearly watching the stuart.

The maids were being silly about Wormwood being a problem Baileywick thought to himself Wormwood wasn't nearly as creepy as Cedric was. Baileywick could feel the sorcerer's cold eyes peering at him from above, it was like Cedric got a sadistic enjoyment from watching him work. It made him uneasy.

Baileywick tidy for fifteen minutes then he spotted the most out of place item he had encounter.

"Cedric, Really," Baileywick said as he picked up a pair of Cedric's black pantaloons.

"Yes, really," mocked Cedric before he headed down the latter to main level.

Baileywick shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, are you going to do your job," Cedric barked.

"My job," Baileywick replied. "I doesn't include putting away your laundry."

"Yes, it does," the sorcerer stated. "That's part of cleaning."

Baileywick ignored Cedric and continued cleaning after placing the pantaloons on the table. Cedric became annoyed.

"Do I need to tell the King you are not doing your job," Cedric hesitantly mentioned.

The sorcerer would never go see Roland II willing, the stuart didn't need to know that. Cedric knew even the beloved stuart, Baileywick, was afraid of his majesty disapproval.

Baileywick sighed as he picked up the pantaloons to put them where they belonged. He could see Cedric's smirk when he was completing the task.

Over the next several weeks, Baileywick found more of Cedric's laundry laying around. Unbelievable he thought the man was doing it on purpose. He dreaded each time he had to step foot into Cedric's pigsty.

**ooOooOooOoo**

Once again, Baileywick had not showed up to do his job at Cedric's workshop. The royal sorcerer was furious. He ventured out of his lair on search for the stuart. He found Baileywick in the courtyard.

"Why aren't you doing your job," Cedric hissed. "My workshop needs to be clean."

"I explained to the King Roland II that it my time is better spent elsewhere," Baileywick explained. "He agreed with me."

"What about keeping the entire castle immaculate," the sorcerer asked.

"I keep the rest of the castle in a clean state," replied the stuart.

"So you give up," Cedric questioned. "I never thought you were that type."

"I did not give up," Baileywick responded. "I just have more important things to do now."

"Liar," Cedric hissed. "You did give up whether or not you are willing to admit it."

Baileywick frowned Cedric was right he had to give up on his dream of keeping castle completely immaculate but it wasn't worth the cost of him being miserable. He watched the royal sorcerer face change from angry to utter bliss.

Cedric was pleased with himself because he had defeated Baileywick. It had to be hard choice to make for Baileywick to give up on his long life passion. A million thoughts rushed through the sorcerer's mind on who would be his next victim.


End file.
